Hansford County, Texas

Hansford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 5,613.[1] Its county seat is Spearman.[2] The county was created in 1876 and organized in 1889.[3] It is named for John M. Hansford, a Texas state congressman and judge.[4]

Hansford County
U.S. county
Hansford County Courthouse in Spearman
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°17′N 101°21′W
Country United States
State Texas
Founded1889
Named forJohn M. Hansford
SeatSpearman
Largest citySpearman
Area
 • Total920 sq mi (2,400 km2)
 • Land920 sq mi (2,400 km2)
 • Water0.6 sq mi (2 km2)  0.06%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total5,613
 • Density6.1/sq mi (2.4/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district13th
Websitewww.co.hansford.tx.us

History

Native Americans

In 1873, English brothers James Hamilton Cator and Arthur J. L. (Bob) Cator were sent by their father, British naval officer Captain John Bertie Cator, to Kansas in search of financial opportunity. The brothers soon found their true calling as buffalo hunters and established an outpost along the North Palo Duro Creek. They named this camp Zulu, and it soon became known as Zulu Stockade.[5][6][7]

The depletion of the buffalo herds led in part to the ongoing conflict between Indians and settlers. The Second Battle of Adobe Walls took place in neighboring Hutchinson County in 1874 and led to the Red River War of 1874–1875. A group of buffalo hunters attempted a revitalization of Fort Adobe. The Comanches, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa saw the fort and the decimation of the buffalo herd as threats to their existence. Comanche medicine man Isa-tai prophesied a victory and immunity to the white man's bullets in battle. Quanah Parker lead several hundred in a raid on the fort. The buffalo hunters were able to force the Indians into retreat.[8] The Red River War of 1874-1875 was a United States Army campaign to force the removal of Indians in Texas and their relocation to reservations, to open the region to white settlers.[9]

Establishment and growth

The Texas Legislature formed Hansford County in 1876 from Young and Bexar Counties. The county was organized in 1889. The town of Hansford became the first county seat.[10]

Early large ranches in Hansford County were spread in neighboring counties, as well. By 1890, only 23 ranches were in operation in the county.[11] In November 1876, Kansan Thomas Sherman Bugbee established the Quarter Circle T Ranch.[12] The Scissors Ranch was begun in 1878 by William E. Anderson at the Adobe Walls site. The ranch was named after the brand, which looked like a pair of scissors.[13] Coloradan Richard E. McNalty moved to Texas and began the Turkey Track Ranch, which he sold to Charles Wood and Jack Snider in 1881.[14] Scotland- born James M. Coburn formed the Hansford Land and Cattle Company. The Quarter Circle T Ranch and Scissors Ranch were sold to Coburn in 1882. Coburn acquired the Turkey Track Ranch in 1883.[15]

In 1887, Hansford became a stage stop on the old Tascosa-Dodge City Trail.[16][17]

In 1909, Anders L. Mordt began to bring in Norwegian farmers to settle the northern part of the county, centering on a rural community they named Oslo.[18]

By 1920, 221 farms and ranches had been established in the county. The same year, the North Texas and Santa Fe Railway built into Spearman.[19] By 1929, Spearman became the county seat. Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf Railway built southward in the 1920s leading to Gruver, becoming the second-largest town in the county.[20] In 1931, the Santa Fe Railroad connected with the Rock Island, joining Morse.[21]

The county began to be connected by highways and farm roads, from the 1920s through the 1940s. Oil was discovered in Hansford County in 1937.[22] By the end of 1974, 38,279,469 barrels (6,085,949.2 m3) had been extracted from county lands since 1937. By the 1980s, Hansford County had a diversified economy based on agriculture, oil, and transportation.[11]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 920 square miles (2,400 km2), of which 920 square miles (2,400 km2) are land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2) (0.06%) is covered by water.[23]

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
188018—
1890133638.9%
190016725.6%
1910935459.9%
19201,35444.8%
19303,548162.0%
19402,783−21.6%
19504,20251.0%
19606,20847.7%
19706,3512.3%
19806,209−2.2%
19905,848−5.8%
20005,369−8.2%
20105,6134.5%
2019 (est.)5,399[24]−3.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[25]
1850–2010[26] 2010–2014[1]

As of the census[27] of 2000, 5,369 people, 2,005 households, and 1,489 families resided in the county. The population density was 6 people per square mile (2/km2). The 2,329 housing units averaged 2 per square mile (1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 79.88% White, 0.04% African American, 0.75% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 17.47% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races. About 31.48% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. In ancestry, 15.6% were of German, 8.4% were of English, 8.2% were of Irish, 6.0% were of American, 3.2% were of Dutch, and 2.3% were of Norwegian.

Of the 2,005 households, 36.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.00% were married couples living together, 5.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were not families. About 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the county, the population was distributed as 29.30% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,438, and for a family was $40,281. Males had a median income of $29,022 versus $17,668 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,408. About 12.00% of families and 16.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.60% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Unincorporated community
  • Hitchland (partially in Oklahoma)

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[28]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 90.3% 1,849 8.1% 166 2.6% 33
2016 88.9% 1,730 8.8% 171 2.4% 46
2012 91.1% 1,788 8.1% 159 0.8% 15
2008 87.9% 1,847 11.4% 240 0.7% 15
2004 88.6% 1,903 11.2% 240 0.2% 4
2000 89.8% 1,874 9.5% 198 0.8% 16
1996 76.8% 1,493 17.6% 343 5.6% 108
1992 69.1% 1,660 14.4% 345 16.6% 398
1988 81.3% 1,967 18.3% 443 0.5% 11
1984 89.4% 2,213 10.5% 259 0.2% 4
1980 78.8% 2,046 20.0% 518 1.2% 32
1976 58.2% 1,401 40.9% 983 0.9% 22
1972 88.9% 1,947 9.2% 202 1.9% 41
1968 62.1% 1,359 17.9% 392 20.0% 437
1964 58.0% 1,193 41.8% 860 0.2% 3
1960 71.9% 1,322 27.8% 512 0.3% 5
1956 62.7% 919 37.2% 545 0.1% 1
1952 72.9% 1,234 27.0% 456 0.1% 2
1948 18.3% 206 79.3% 895 2.4% 27
1944 24.1% 203 70.1% 590 5.8% 49
1940 17.1% 150 82.4% 725 0.6% 5
1936 8.0% 74 89.7% 826 2.3% 21
1932 7.4% 67 89.1% 803 3.4% 31
1928 56.6% 417 43.3% 319 0.1% 1
1924 20.9% 76 72.5% 263 6.6% 24
1920 29.4% 54 67.4% 124 3.3% 6
1916 19.9% 47 70.3% 166 9.8% 23
1912 8.0% 12 61.6% 93 30.5% 46

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 6, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "Texas: Individual County Chronologies". Texas Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved May 24, 2015.
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 149.
  5. Anderson, H. Allen. "James Hamilton Cator". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  6. "The History of Zulu". Spearman Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  7. "Zulu, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  8. Keenan, Jerry (1999). Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars 1492-1890. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 2, 3. ISBN 978-0-393-31915-6.
  9. "The Red River War of 1874". Texas Beyond History. UT-Austin. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  10. "Hansford, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  11. Anderson, H Allen. "Hansford County, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  12. Anderson, H Allen. "Quarter Circle T Ranch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  13. Anderson, H Allen. "Scissors Ranch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  14. Anderson, H Allen. "Turkey Track Ranch". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  15. Anderson, H Allen. "James M. Coburn". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  16. Haywood, C Robert. "Tascosa-Dodge City Trail". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  17. "Route of the Old Tascosa-Dodge City Trail". StoppingPoints.com. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  18. Anderson, H Allen. "Oslo, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  19. Andeson, H Allen. "North Texas and Santa Fe Railway". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  20. "Gruver, Texas". Texas Escapes. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  21. Compton`, Tracey L. "Morse, Texas". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  22. Warner, C A; Thompson, Ernest O (2007). Texas Oil & Gas Since 1543. Copano Bay Press. p. 250. ISBN 978-0-9767799-5-7.
  23. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  24. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  25. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  26. "Texas Almanac: Population History of Counties from 1850–2010" (PDF). Texas Almanac. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  27. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  28. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-07-25.

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